laviskrg's review against another edition
2.0
This was such a huge disappointment, I can barely believe it, especially judging by all the glowing, extremely well-written reviews out there. Sadly, said reviews are much more intellectual than the mediocre drivel that they are defending.
I went into this with lowered expectations cos hey, if even Neil Gaiman's first novel is slightly less amazing (but still pretty damned sublime!) than his later works, who am I to criticize the beginnings of a writer's universe and style? But Elantris is just plain BAD. Allow me to explain why.
I will start by semi-defending its magic system, sub-culture and world building. These are all quite decent. I particularly enjoyed the magic system, though it was in no way brilliant and unique. It was metaphoric and sweetly nostalgic but it reeked of "God's infinitely generous powers" and "The Almighty solution to any character's issue" and it was cartoonish to the point where I was literally envisioning the use of Aons in an animated interface. And that, in my mind, does not seem normal for a book marked as "Adult". The world building is scarce and therefore, not completely satisfactory, but the little of it that is was well planned and made sense. But it made sense too easily and was much too thinly woven. As for the mixture of religions, I am not in the least bit impressed because they were all so obviously inspired from the de-facto religions of our own world.
Now, for the stuff I absolutely cannot defend:
1. The characters
This book has some of the lamest characters I have ever encountered. Had I read it at the ripe age of 12, I would have definitely liked the annoying, plucky, chirpy, incompetent and ultra-talkative male and female protagonists. But after the hundreds of books with cleverly-built realistic and intelligent characters that I have read....no, sorry, I cannot stand the lame young adult stereotypes anymore.
So she is the angel of beauty, poise, grace, pragmatism, intelligence and wit, who thinks she is ugly, unwanted because of her intelligence, who suffers from a jarring inferiority complex and who must become the savior of the back-country piece of shit town that is full of the dumbest noblemen in the history of literature. I think these people could have been led by livestock, to be honest. So the perfect symbol of feminism arrives to lead the drooling crowds to the light.
He is the epitome of male success. Somehow he did not turn out as his piece of shit paternal unit, but instead became amazing in all accounts, especially in talking to other lame brained idiots and convincing them to be his bitches while also being grateful and loving for it. He is also prolific and special and kind, and achieves everything with what we are made to think is "great efforts and infinite study" but in my opinion, anything that can be contained in a few months is NOT a great struggle and an impeccable effort. He is also a hopeless romantic and obviously utterly at the mercy of the perfect female protagonist. Cos they both fit so well in their cliched little universes. Gah!
The villain who is not really a villain is by far the best character UNTIL he also realizes that he loves the princess. Because such is the blessing and the curse of the Mary Sue. All male characters are either in love with her or worship her and all female characters are either jealous or in utter awe of her. Because she is the perfect Angel that has sprout out of the author's head. Puke-inducing to say the least.
2. The language
This is supposedly a medieval inspired setting, albeit a fantasy one in an undetermined time setting. So then, why do they speak like modern people do? Why use such common words and concepts?
The usage of "cool" made-up words is also annoying and jarring. There is no explanation for any of those words. One simply has to ACCEPT their meaning or get it through context, which would be fine, were those words not used constantly and for one simple reason: the lack of a proper description. It is much easier to simply throw in a word that sounds like shit no matter how one reads it and expect it to somehow contain an entire devastating event.
3. The DRAMA
I was not impressed by Elantris and its situation. Not really. I've read far worse stories about leper colonies and far more dramatic and horrific fantastic scenarios. Elantris was more like a sad little zoo waiting for the Jesus figure and that shit stopped being interesting to me decades ago. We are expected to care about characters who just cease to exist but since they get barely any character development (who has room with all the Raoden and Sarene worship), how am I going to be touched by their death / sacrifice? They were nothing but drooling slops of worship anyway. Slaves to the Mary Sue and Gary Stu. So no compassion will be felt.
4. The writing style. Short sentences. For simple minds. I hope this changes. If not I shall not be able to read any other of his books. Short sentences devoid of any metaphor, poetry, substance, nuance or depth are for novices, not for celebrated geniuses.
This beach-worthy novel gets 2 stars from me only for the presence of Aons and the minute twists involved in their explanation. Recommended to no one at all.
I went into this with lowered expectations cos hey, if even Neil Gaiman's first novel is slightly less amazing (but still pretty damned sublime!) than his later works, who am I to criticize the beginnings of a writer's universe and style? But Elantris is just plain BAD. Allow me to explain why.
I will start by semi-defending its magic system, sub-culture and world building. These are all quite decent. I particularly enjoyed the magic system, though it was in no way brilliant and unique. It was metaphoric and sweetly nostalgic but it reeked of "God's infinitely generous powers" and "The Almighty solution to any character's issue" and it was cartoonish to the point where I was literally envisioning the use of Aons in an animated interface. And that, in my mind, does not seem normal for a book marked as "Adult". The world building is scarce and therefore, not completely satisfactory, but the little of it that is was well planned and made sense. But it made sense too easily and was much too thinly woven. As for the mixture of religions, I am not in the least bit impressed because they were all so obviously inspired from the de-facto religions of our own world.
Now, for the stuff I absolutely cannot defend:
1. The characters
This book has some of the lamest characters I have ever encountered. Had I read it at the ripe age of 12, I would have definitely liked the annoying, plucky, chirpy, incompetent and ultra-talkative male and female protagonists. But after the hundreds of books with cleverly-built realistic and intelligent characters that I have read....no, sorry, I cannot stand the lame young adult stereotypes anymore.
So she is the angel of beauty, poise, grace, pragmatism, intelligence and wit, who thinks she is ugly, unwanted because of her intelligence, who suffers from a jarring inferiority complex and who must become the savior of the back-country piece of shit town that is full of the dumbest noblemen in the history of literature. I think these people could have been led by livestock, to be honest. So the perfect symbol of feminism arrives to lead the drooling crowds to the light.
He is the epitome of male success. Somehow he did not turn out as his piece of shit paternal unit, but instead became amazing in all accounts, especially in talking to other lame brained idiots and convincing them to be his bitches while also being grateful and loving for it. He is also prolific and special and kind, and achieves everything with what we are made to think is "great efforts and infinite study" but in my opinion, anything that can be contained in a few months is NOT a great struggle and an impeccable effort. He is also a hopeless romantic and obviously utterly at the mercy of the perfect female protagonist. Cos they both fit so well in their cliched little universes. Gah!
The villain who is not really a villain is by far the best character UNTIL he also realizes that he loves the princess. Because such is the blessing and the curse of the Mary Sue. All male characters are either in love with her or worship her and all female characters are either jealous or in utter awe of her. Because she is the perfect Angel that has sprout out of the author's head. Puke-inducing to say the least.
2. The language
This is supposedly a medieval inspired setting, albeit a fantasy one in an undetermined time setting. So then, why do they speak like modern people do? Why use such common words and concepts?
The usage of "cool" made-up words is also annoying and jarring. There is no explanation for any of those words. One simply has to ACCEPT their meaning or get it through context, which would be fine, were those words not used constantly and for one simple reason: the lack of a proper description. It is much easier to simply throw in a word that sounds like shit no matter how one reads it and expect it to somehow contain an entire devastating event.
3. The DRAMA
I was not impressed by Elantris and its situation. Not really. I've read far worse stories about leper colonies and far more dramatic and horrific fantastic scenarios. Elantris was more like a sad little zoo waiting for the Jesus figure and that shit stopped being interesting to me decades ago. We are expected to care about characters who just cease to exist but since they get barely any character development (who has room with all the Raoden and Sarene worship), how am I going to be touched by their death / sacrifice? They were nothing but drooling slops of worship anyway. Slaves to the Mary Sue and Gary Stu. So no compassion will be felt.
4. The writing style. Short sentences. For simple minds. I hope this changes. If not I shall not be able to read any other of his books. Short sentences devoid of any metaphor, poetry, substance, nuance or depth are for novices, not for celebrated geniuses.
This beach-worthy novel gets 2 stars from me only for the presence of Aons and the minute twists involved in their explanation. Recommended to no one at all.
aandrus's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
kieran_c's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This has been the best climax I’ve read in a Sanderson (although twists aren’t mistborn era 1 level ‘WTF this is amazing’), but also maybe the weakest resolution…
Really enjoyed it. Setting as always really interesting, and love a bit of religious introspection, characters were flat at first but you do really grow to like them. It helps that this is a slow burn of a book. The plot is really basic on the face of it, but the different perspectives, the unique setting and the combination of macro-level plots and micro-level individual experiences makes it feel anything other than generic.
Really enjoyed it. Setting as always really interesting, and love a bit of religious introspection, characters were flat at first but you do really grow to like them. It helps that this is a slow burn of a book. The plot is really basic on the face of it, but the different perspectives, the unique setting and the combination of macro-level plots and micro-level individual experiences makes it feel anything other than generic.
drearyletters's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
garrettcz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
valeleleu's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
bassgirl456's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
alyssa_l's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
emilypicard's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0